Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
  • F16K—VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING
  • F16K37/00—Special means in or on valves or other cut-off apparatus for indicating or recording operation thereof, or for enabling an alarm to be given
  • F16K37/0075—For recording or indicating the functioning of a valve in combination with test equipment
  • F16K37/0091—For recording or indicating the functioning of a valve in combination with test equipment by measuring fluid parameters

Definitions

• This invention relates to apparatus for testing valves automatically with the minimum of operator intervention. More specifically, this invention relates to computer controlled apparatus which applies controlled pressures to the valve under test, measures the resulting flow rates, and displays and stores the input pressures and flow rates.
• valves to control incontinence is known in the art.
• Valves used for this application must function reliably under adverse biological conditions with small operating forces. Obtaining these desired valve characteristics requires accurate testing.
• the computer used can be a Pentium*" type computer with conventional keyboard, monitor, mouse, printer, recording apparatus and Windows operating system.
• This equipment and program permit the use of an icon type selection approach to call up a succession of screens for the various operations provided by a variety of specialized programs, and to use either a mouse or keyboard entries to call up additional operational functions.
• the specialized test programs provide capability for: controlling the tests, data acquisition, filing and printing results, maintenance, troubleshooting, help suggestions, overpressure alarms, and data security.
• the tests use a pump under computer control to provide water to a valve under test.
• a pressure sensor at the input of the valve under test measures the actual input pressure.
• the pressure sensor is calibrated by an separate external measuring unit.
• the pressure information from the pressure sensor is a computer input.
• a manual test mode of operation permits the user to set the pressure input into a computer screen.
• An automatic test mode of operation permits the user to select one of several computer controlled predetermined pressure versus time profiles from a screen. These pressure versus time profiles are called pressure templates.
• the output flow rate from the valve under test is determined by collecting liquid emerging from the valve in a container, and using a scale to continuously weigh the container and collected liquid.
• the scale output is a computer input.
• the valve liquid output flow rate is determined in the computer by subtracting successively measured weights to determine the quantity and using their respective measurement times to calculate the output flow rate.
• Valve output flow rates over time, low flow pressure, full flow pressure, and closing pressures are determined, flagged, recorded and displayed by the determined, flagged, recorded and displayed by the computer for each test.
• An alarm system which indicates out of range conditions by a red color alerts the user to any out of range condition.
• Screen icons permit the user to test the alarm system test for proper operation, and operate an on-off switch for the pump.
• a file generated for each test uses the serial number of the tested valve as the file name.
• a date-time stamp and a user name are entered into the file for each test. The user can retest a valve, and can review current and previous test results.
• the pressure sensor calibration can be performed, and pressure template parameters plus other critical parameters can be changed by a test manager.
• An automatically generated password can provide rest: ;.cted access to these functions.
• the user-password file and the log file are also protected by scrambling the data.
• FIG. 1 is a side view of a physical arrangement of the apparatus
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control schematics of the apparatus
• FIG. 3A is a Main Form which provides the screen for overall test control operation showing a first sample test cycle
• FIG. 3B is the Main Form showing a second test cycle
• FIG. 3C is the Main Form showing a third test cycle
• FIG. 3D is the Main Form showing a fourth test cycle
• FIG. 4 is a test summary which provides a screen for observing test results
• FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are flow diagrams showing the test process; and FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the results of two different valve tests.
• FIG. 1 Computer 12 which can include a Pentium 1 " microprocessor or other microprocessor as known in the computing art, uses appropriate microprocessor accessories, namely, an interfacing monitor 14, printer 15, keyboard 16 and mouse 18.
• Table 20 supports the majority of apparatus 10.
• Inverted bottle 22, supported above table 20, has a conduit 24 which extends from above the level of water 26 through stopper 28 to shut off valve 30 for hand air pump 32.
• Hand air pump 32 and shut-off valve 30 are used to manually change the level of working pressure within bottle 22.
• Conduit 34 extends from within bottle 22, through stopper 28, into stop-cock 36, and then from the stop ⁇ cock to pump 38.
• Pump 38 is arranged to pump water 37, contained within recess 39 of table 20, into bottle 22 through conduit 34.
• a pump which can be used with this apparatus is model IPC13A manufactured by Beckett corporation, which operated on 110 vac.
• An I/O module 41 not shown on this figure, which is model SRA-01 manufactured by Keithley Metrabyte can provide a control interface to the pump.
• Conduit 40 extends from within bottle 22, through stopper 28, into stop-cock 42, and then from the stop ⁇ cock through pressure sensor 44 to valve 46, which is the valve under test.
• Stop-cocks 36 and 42 permit isolating bottle 22 from the remainder of the system for maintenance or part replacements.
• Pressure sensor 44 can be model PX139-005D4V manufactured by the Omega corporation or similar sensor as known in the sensor art.
• Valve to test 46 is positioned immediately above upwardly open container 48 to allow the container to collect water flowing through valve 46.
• Container 48 is supported by scale 50, which is turn is supported by table 20.
• Scale 50 can be either a model LT7200 manufactured by ACCULAB, model TP4K manufactured by OHAUS or other scale having an output port which provides a continuous output representing the current weight on the scale.
• a standard electrical receptacle provides 110 VAC power.
• Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) 54 is connected to said power source.
• UPS 54 provides conditioned power to the entire system.
• Electric box 52 and UPS 54 provide the necessary electrical connections and I/O (input/output) to interface computer 12 with pump 38, scale 50 and pressure sensor 44.
• Switch 53 switches a separate 110 vac power source to electric box 52 on and off.
• Fuse 55 not shown in this figure, provides 110 vac circuit protection.
• Pressure sensor 44 has a nine pin output channel to provide the sensed pressure information which is connected to a nine pin input channel in electric box 52 through connection 56.
• Scale 50 has an RS232 compatible output, which provides the weight information from the scale, to an RS232 compatible input COM1 serial port in Computer 12 through connection 58.
• Scale 50 also has a connection 60 to connection 66 which is also connected to the 110 VAC power source from UPS 54. This power source provides the electric power for scale 50.
• Pump 38 receives its power from control lines 63 in electric box 52 through connection 64 which is controlled by computer 12, as will be described later.
• Connector 62 connected to 110 vac in electric box 52, which is switched by switch 53, is also connected to connector 66 to provide 110 VAC power from UPS 54.
• UPS 54 also provides 110 VAC power to computer 12 through connector 68.
• Electric box 52 has a 50 pin connection data acquisition board LAB PC+ 13 through connector 70 to computer 12.
• Monitor 14 is connected to computer 12 through connection 72.
• Printer 15 is connected to computer 12 through connection 73 directly or through a network.
• Keyboard 16 is connected to computer 12 through connection 74.
• Mouse 18 is connected to computer 12 through connection 76.
• FIG. 2 shows details of the data acquisition and control schematics for pump 38 to electric box 52 containing I/O module 41, switch 53, fuse 55 and the connections of the module and pressure sensor 44 to computer 12 containing interface card 13.
• the above described hardware is controlled through a graphical user interface which includes menu selections and screen controls on numerous forms. These screen selections are all called using labeled buttons or icons using the mouse or keyboard.
• the above operations are all called from screens using the familiar hypertext and/or Windows procedures and their control capabilities. These are familiar to those skilled in contemporary computer art.
• the screen selections in turn call up corresponding computer programs which perform the selected operation. Specific programs necessary to provide these various operations are not included, however the knowledge of how to provide such programs using common computer instructions and approaches from the following descriptions of their operations is well known in the computer art.
• File deals with creating and reading experimental files. File/New starts a new experiment and is a default setting.
• File/Open reads an old file from specified data directories.
• File/View allows the user to move back and forth in an opened file and to review the graphs of pressure and flow for a particular cycle.
• File/New screen As an example, if the user then wants to reach the File/Old function by selecting a File/Old button in the File/New screen, then all the controls which allow the user to manage an experiment will be blocked and a form will pop up on the screen for navigating through cycles of the selected file. Pressure and flow rate graphs or a test Summary can also be called from these screens. When viewing the pressure and flow rate graphs or Summary the navigational form disappears. These can be restored by selecting a File/View button. After File/Open has been selected, the user must select the File/New button to continue an experiment.
• Edit allows a user to change the input information.
• Edit/Entry enables the user to change the serial number and the part number of the device.
• Edit/Password allows the user to change their own password.
• the entry form is shown which permits changing the serial and part numbers of the device under test from the default entries provided by the program. If, in a new experiment, the user forgets to select Edit/Entry they will be prompted to enter this information into Input boxes provided before they can proceed with the test. A new user will automatically receive a standard password and the system will prompt the user to change the password every time that password is sensed.
• maintenance is accessible only by a test manager and not by the usual user.
• a maintenance screen can only be called up by using an appropriate manager identification code.
• the pressure template specified is a polylinear function of pressure versus time with Vertices (0,0; Xl,Pl; X2,P2; X3,0; X4,0) where X1...X4 are in seconds and PI, P2 are in cm. of water.
• the total cycle time is X4 seconds.
• Maintenance/Limits allows the manager to change limits for the low flow pressure, full flow pressure, closing pressure, test points and for a minimum of the maximum flow rate.
• Maintenance/CalibrationPress allows the manager to calibrate the pressure, sensor, update the pressure sensor coefficients and print a calibration report.
• Maintenance/IDs allows the manager to change identification numbers for the test station, for the pressure sensor and for the scale.
• Maintenance/Username enables the manager to review, add or delete user names.
• the Help screen provides suggestions for troubleshooting the apparatus.
• the Main Form screen shown in FIG 3, is used to operate the tests (the Main Form screen can also include the Menu Control described above) .
• the Main Form screen displays the below named control buttons which provide the named operation when "clicked" on by the mouse.
• the user calls this screen to control either a single manual test or for an automated test of the valve.
• This screen controls a VisualBasic program PRTEST01.EXE which in turn uses a number of additional programs located in the work directory c: ⁇ vb ⁇ lab ⁇ testtn. These additional word directory programs will be described later under Files.
• the control buttons displayed by the Main Form screen and the corresponding operations follow.
• Pressure Displays the pressure graph for the current test cycle in a larger size format to allow zoning the test times.
• Flow Displays the flow rate graph for the current test cycle in a larger format to allow zoning the test times.
• Restart Restarts a test from the point exited.
• Save Saves the test results to a file.
• File/Newmenu Initiates a new file and test.
• FIGS. 3A-3D show the Main Form including first through fourth sample test cycles.
• the first test cycle is almost complete at 58 seconds. No average flow rate or max flow has been computed as the cycle is not complete.
• the second sample test cycle is a complete test at an elapsed time of 60 seconds. Volume, average flow rate and max flow rate have been computed.
• the third test cycle like the first test cycle, is not yet complete at an elapsed time of 59 seconds and, thus, average flow rate or maximum flow rate have not been computed.
• the fourth sample test cycle is substantially incomplete at an elapsed time of 26 seconds. The valve has not yet closed and thus no closing pressure has been determined as well as no average flow rate or max flow rate.
• the Summary of the Test of FIG. 4 shows the corresponding screen menu called by clicking on Summary in the Main Form screen.
• This summary has data boxes along the top of the screen with identifying labels for Part #, Serial #, Date, User, Test Station ID, Scale Id, and pressure Sensor ID.
• Information regarding Data for the Low Flow Pressure, Full flow Pressure and Closing Pressure in cm. of water are also shown for each cycle number and for a 10 cycle average.
• the data indicates Volume in cubic cm. Average Flow Rate and Max. Flow Rate are shown, for each cycle and the average of the data for the 10 cycles, in cubic cm. per second.
• Three pairs of data boxes are provided.
• One pair of boxes is provided for upper and lower limit information of Low Flow Pressure Limits, Full Flow Pressure Limits, and Closing Pressure Limits.
• a single box is provided for Minimum Max. Flow Rate data.
• the main control screen also displays four alarms which indicate out of range conditions for Pressure, Pump, Temperature and Scale.
• An alarm condition is indicated when the display is red. The alarm can be turned off only by clicking on the indicated alarm.
• the security system includes password access and a
• Logon file A user accesses the program by entering his or her own user name and password. These are contained in a file Pas ⁇ user.fil, which will be described later along with the other files. This file is scrambled for security considerations. This file excludes all except identified managers from the Maintenance operations. Since every user has his or her own password, no one can log into the system as someone else.
• FILE SYSTEM When 10 cycles of the test have been performed the program can generate an experiment file to save the data. This can be accomplished from File/Save in the Main Form screen or from Summary by selecting Save or Save-Exit buttons. A file name is generated automatically from the serial number of the device. If the serial number of the device is MMDDYYFFNNN, the file name will be MMDDYYFF.NNN. The user should confirm that these are identical before saving or transferring the test file. Each experiment file includes 200 bytes of data plus the device ID, summary information of the tests, and 10 sets of record for 10 cycles.
• the first field of 5 characters of the file is made the same for all of the experiment files, so the program can recognize experiment files and immediately reject all others.
• the number of records can vary from set to set although the total cycle time is determined by the value of X4 in the pressure template. Every record in a set is 8 bytes long consisting of time in milliseconds, pressure and flow rate. Time is saved as a 4 byte integer. Pressure and flow rate are saved as integers with a scale of ten, i.e., a pressure of 53.2 cm. of water is saved as 532 to reduce the file size.
• logon.fil This file contains logon records of user names and date-time stamps and is scrambled.
• PresTmp.fil This file contains the pressure template. Alimits. fil This file contains limits for the low flow and full flow pressure, the closing pressure, maximum weight on the scale and other limits.
• Commparm.fil This file contains communication parameters for the RS-232 port of scale 50.
• Prescalb.fil This file contains pressure sensor coefficients.
• a special directory is also required for the experimental files, namely: c: ⁇ vb ⁇ lab ⁇ testdata.
• block Warning 104 is entered which displays a warning on the screen and then enters block Exit Go 106 which returns the program to Go awaiting further user intervention. If the answer to block 102 is No then block Increase Cycle # 108 is entered which increments the test cycle number upward by one and enters block Cycle #>C Max.? 110. If the cycle number of the current test cycle is greater than CMAX (which was 10 for the preferred embodiment), the answer to block 110 is Yes, and block Warning 112 is entered which displays a warning on the screen and then enters block Exit Go 114 which returns the program to Go awaiting further user intervention.
• CMAX which was 10 for the preferred embodiment
• Initiate Variables 116 is entered which enters the selected pressure template sequence and then enters block Display Pressure Template Graph 118 which displays the selected pressure template and then enters block Stop 120 which determines if stop has been selected.
• block ClearFlow Graph 128 is entered which clears the graph and enters block Read Time 129 which reads the current time and enters block Time Off? 130. If the time to complete the test has been reached then the answer to block 130 is yes and block Display Ave. Flow Rate 132 is entered. Block 132 displays the average flow rate on the screen and enters block Display Max. 134.
• Block Flow Rate 134 displays the maximum flow rate on the screen and enters block Write Info.
• File 136 which writes the test information to the current test file.
• Block Exit Go 138 is then entered which returns the program to Go awaiting further user intervention.
• Block 146 sets an alarm on the screen indicating pump overpressure and reenters block 140.
• block Read Scale 144 is entered which reads the current scale information from scale 50 and enters block Scale > Smax.? 146. If the weight currently indicated by the scale is greater than the maximum scale weight limit the answer is Yes and block Pump Off 148 is entered. Block 148 shuts the pump off and enters block Alarm 150. Block 150 provides an alarm on the screen indicating that the weight of the scale is over limit and reenters block 144. If the answer to block 146 is No, then block Display Time 152 is entered which displays the current time on the screen and enters block Display Pressure 154. Block 154 displays the current pressure on the screen and then enters block Display Volume 156. Block 156 displays the current flow volume and enters block LPF > 0? 158.
• Block Flow Starts? 160 is entered. If flow has started, as indicated by an increase in readings from scale 50, the answer to block 160 is Yes and block Display LFP 162 is entered. Block 162 displays the low flow pressure on the screen and enters block CLP > 0? 164. If the answer to block 160 is No, block 164 is entered. If the answer to block 158 is No, block 164 is entered.
• Block 164 if the closing pressure of the valve under test is greater than zero the answer is Yes and block Flow Stops? 166 is then entered.
• Block 166 if the flow through the valve under test has stopped, as determined by no change in the weight on scale 50 for successive readings, the answer is Yes which indicates that the valve has closed.
• Block Flow Rate > Fmax.? 174 is entered. If the flow rate, determined in block 170, is less than the maximum flow rate for the valve the answer is Yes and block Display FFP 176 is entered. Block 176 displays the full flow pressure of the valve on the screen and enters block Pres. Tmplt? 178. If the answer to block 172 or 174 is No, block 178 is entered. If a pressure template has been specified, the answer to block 178 is Yes and block Pump On 180 is entered. Block 180 turns the pump on and enters block Put Line Segment on Pres. Graph 184. If the answer to block 178 is No block Pump Off 182 is entered. Block 182 turns the pump off and enters block 184.
• Block 184 places the line segment for the pressure just calculated on the monitor and enters block Put Line Segment on Flow Graph 186.
• Block 186 places the line segments for the flow rate just calculated on the monitor and reenters block 129. This arrangement will test a valve once if no template is provided and will repeat a valve test 10 times if a pressure template is provided. At the end of the tests the test parameters will be displayed on the screen of monitor 14 and collected in an identified file.
• a good procedure is to wait until at least two cycles which appear to be correct have been tested manually to make sure that the valve under test and the apparatus operates correctly, then click on Back and then click on Restart to begin then 10 cycles for filing. The first cycle can again be done manually and the remainder automatically.
• This last step is required because otherwise, with valve 42 closed when computer 12 is reenergized pump 38 could build up a substantial pressure in bottle 22.
• This apparatus provides a standardized repeatable test procedure which is stored in a standard format. Flexible controls to monitor and modify the tests are available in screen menu formats using standardized conventional computer techniques. Previous test results can readily be recalled and observed. The computer, its accessories and operating system are standardized and readily available. Only the test equipment itself and necessary computer interface are specialized but here too the operation is controlled by the standardized operating system. This greatly reduces both equipment and training costs.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Testing Of Devices, Machine Parts, Or Other Structures Thereof (AREA)
• Fluid-Driven Valves (AREA)
• Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
• Examining Or Testing Airtightness (AREA)
• Orthopedics, Nursing, And Contraception (AREA)
• Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)

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• 1996
  • 1996-05-03 US US08/642,635 patent/US5751606A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1997
  • 1997-05-02 AT AT97923531T patent/ATE246804T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1997-05-02 WO PCT/US1997/007470 patent/WO1997042481A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1997-05-02 CA CA002256053A patent/CA2256053C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-05-02 DE DE69723972T patent/DE69723972T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-05-02 ES ES97923531T patent/ES2206710T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-05-02 EP EP97923531A patent/EP0896660B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-05-02 JP JP54006697A patent/JP3945587B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-05-02 AU AU29310/97A patent/AU714508B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1997-05-05 PL PL97330155A patent/PL183717B1/pl not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1997-05-05 BR BR9709583-4A patent/BR9709583A/pt unknown
• 1998
  • 1998-10-30 NO NO985057A patent/NO985057L/no not_active Application Discontinuation

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